Mr. Bennett has a wide and extensive experience in the legal profession. After receiving his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas Law School in 1977 and admission to the State Bar of Texas the same year, Mr. Bennett became an Assistant County Attorney for Travis County. In 1982, He founded the firm JOEL B. BENNETT, P.C. as his private practice. He has represented Austin Community College, Capitol Metro, the City of Austin, the State Board of Insurance, and the Texas Department of Insurance in litigation. As a former real estate title researcher and examiner, Mr. Bennett also has a strong background in real estate law in addition to his diverse practice in civil and criminal litigation.

During his term as Assistant County Attorney, Mr. Bennett saw firsthand how many individuals destroyed their lives by the use and sale of drugs. Ultimately, this experience led him to seek an appointment as a Travis County Drug Court Judge in 1993. He served the Travis County community as the first Judge of the Travis County Drug Court from 1993 until 2012. He has also used his expertise to help other jurisdictions create and effectively operate drug courts. He strongly believes in the positive role a drug court can play in building better communities.

State Bar of Texas (1977)

University of Texas School of Law (J.D. 1977)
University of North Texas (M.B.A. 1970)
University of North Texas (B.A. in Mathematics, 1968)

April Griffin has served as in-house counsel for several state agencies, advising clients on matters pertaining to government procurement, open government law, agency rule-making, legislative issues, special education, rehabilitative services, employment, and policy issues. As a solo practitioner, she has handled estate planning, probate, and guardianship matters. She has served as legal counsel for individuals and business entities handling transactional matters including business development, entity formation, filings, entity status changes, contract review, contract formation, negotiations, breach of contract and termination issues.

April is a proud supporter of veterans' rights having served on active duty in the United States Air Force for over seven years. She is a board member for the Austin Black Lawyers Association Foundation and a Council Member of the State Bar of Texas Administrative and Public Law Section. April also serves as a Commissioner on the Travis County ESD 2 Board.